brentm77
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
- Messages
- 1,997
We just returned from a fantastic two-week trip to Japan, which included a day at Disneyland and a day at DisneySea. I don't know if I'll do a full trip report, but I might write a mini report of some sort. For now, I wanted to share our experience related to my daughter's disability so that others may benefit from it. My daughter had her leg amputated last year due to bone cancer and uses a prosthesis. She also uses arm crutches for now, while she gets stronger and learns to walk without them.
Transportation in Japan: While we took a few trains in Japan, including the monorail, we mostly used taxis. We brought her wheelchair for long distances since her endurance isn't great. After some debate, we decided to take her collapsible generic chair instead of her custom-made one. This turned out to be the right decision. Even though it collapses and the back folds down, it barely fit in many of the older taxis. In fact, many had to leave the trunk partly open and strapped down in those taxis. We learned to call bigger taxis using the Go app (I think they called it premium in the app) to make sure we had enough room. Overall, transportation was very easy with the wheelchair and taxis all over Japan.
Hotel Experience and Getting to the Parks: We stayed in an Alice room at the Disneyland Hotel. The hotel was absolutely exceptional. It felt like the premium experience you expect for the price, unlike any of the U.S. hotels (in our opinion). Because my daughter was set on an Alice room, we did not have the usual accessible room for her, but the setup of the shower and everything worked great for her. She didn't have any issues. Getting to Disneyland was a piece of cake, with it being just out the back door of the hotel, with accessible ramps. Likewise, getting to DisneySea was easy. The monorail station is also right behind the hotel with easy-to-use elevators to the elevated platform. Getting on and off the monorail was great—better than WDW—since it didn't require someone to put a ramp up for us. The gap was small enough between the platform and monorail that I could just wheel her on and off easily.
Parks Experience: While we loved the parks and had a fantastic two days, Disney (really Oriental Land Company) fell a bit short for us in the disability handling area. There were a few concerns. First, employees tended to speak to us instead of my daughter, who is a college-age adult. When they did speak to her, they were a little condescending, treating her like she had a mental disability or something. This seemed to be a cultural thing from what we could tell, but we wish employees were better trained on modern ideas around disabilities, namely that most people want to be treated like everyone else. The other issue we had was the very formal checklist they went through with her on every single ride, sometimes multiple times.
We had a vacation package that let us use priority access lines on any rides that had them, anytime. In theory, this should have meant walking up to a ride and riding within minutes, but the second a cast member spotted my daughter's crutches, they pulled us aside and the long process began. The process involved a series of about five questions and lots of talking. With communication being an issue, it took way too long considering we had to repeat it so many times during the day. It involved explaining to her what the line was like (steps, no steps, how big the steps were, etc.), then what the ride was like ("this is a slow-moving boat ride, are you okay with that?"), then what transferring to the ride vehicle was like, often including the exact height of the step she would need to make, then asking her about emergency evacuations and the like. It may not sound like much and may even sound prudent to some, but it became exhausting and extremely repetitive. On some rides, they had an English book they would pull out, which sped things up, but on many, they were punching all of this into Google Translate and it took 20+ minutes to get through it. On more than one occasion, the process was repeated by a second cast member further up the line, despite us telling them that we had already been through it. It was bad enough that by the middle of the second day, my daughter was dropping rides from her must-do list because she was done going through it. It was simply overkill and took several hours of our day in each park when all was said and done. Whether it arose from a cultural difference, legal requirements, or both, it doesn't really matter to me. It was unnecessary and made her feel singled out in a way that never happens in the U.S. parks.
Then, at the end of our second day in the parks, after she had ridden nearly everything, we had an even worse experience. We went to ride Tower of Terror and got approved to ride. After waiting about twenty minutes in the priority line, we were called to board the elevator. Before she could cross the threshold, the woman told us to put her crutches in a can at the door. We explained she needed them to walk. She told us it was not allowed. So we put them in the can and I proceeded to support her so she could walk onto the ride. The woman told us that wasn't allowed and my daughter had to walk on herself. We explained she couldn't do that, and she said she couldn't ride. It was strange that this was the only ride with this issue, but we understood it probably had to do with having to evacuate from a different floor if necessary, so we were cool with it, even if disappointed. But then she called a supervisor who came and talked to us before calling another supervisor, and they made a big apologetic scene while everyone was waiting behind us to board still, and we just wanted to go. This was the final straw for my daughter and she was done riding rides. It was an unfortunate end to what was overall a very cool experience for everyone. Again, there are cultural differences, which we are usually very aware of and defer to since we are guests in another country, but at some point, I hope things improve at Tokyo Disney a little bit. As I said before, she just wants to be treated more normally. The U.S. parks are leagues ahead in this department. They understand that most disabled people know their limitations and are okay with a simple, "can you evacuate in the event of an emergency?" question.
In the end, the parks were amazing. They were like stepping back in time, where customer service was amazing, the parks were kept in near-perfect condition, and very clean. We had a great experience and are so glad we got to go. We all particularly liked Fantasy Springs. But this was also my daughter's bucket-list trip that we promised she would get when she beat cancer, and it was a bit sad to see her worn out by an outdated process in the parks, to the point where she said she didn't think she would ever want to go back to the parks in Tokyo.
Japan Generally: Disability access is getting better in Japan, but it is clear even modern areas weren't designed with disability access in mind. For example, at Tokyo Station, we had to take three different elevators to get from the train to the main area of the station, instead of just one. Elevators are also usually small. In addition, stores leave little room for wheelchairs, so a narrow chair is imperative if you want to shop. There were also a lot of elevated walkways in the city, which sometimes ended with stairs and no elevator. This was fine for us since my daughter is ambulatory and I could carry the chair, but it could be problematic for others. One tip I have for those in wheelchairs is to use Google Maps and select "wheelchair accessible." It does a fair job of navigating around steps. I also figured out late in the trip that areas in red on the map mean they are elevated walkways—once I learned that, things went smoother with navigation. Most of the temples or shrines handed us a map that had a route with no or little stairs. Again, it helps at many of these sites if you can navigate a few stairs and someone can carry the wheelchair, and some parts of them may not be accessible at all, but overall, you can see plenty with a wheelchair and we did not feel too impeded.
Overall, this was a trip of a lifetime. We found Japan to be everything we had hoped and more. If I get a chance, I will post more about our itinerary and trip. Thanks to everyone here who made understanding the park reservation process so much easier and planning our visit more fun!
Transportation in Japan: While we took a few trains in Japan, including the monorail, we mostly used taxis. We brought her wheelchair for long distances since her endurance isn't great. After some debate, we decided to take her collapsible generic chair instead of her custom-made one. This turned out to be the right decision. Even though it collapses and the back folds down, it barely fit in many of the older taxis. In fact, many had to leave the trunk partly open and strapped down in those taxis. We learned to call bigger taxis using the Go app (I think they called it premium in the app) to make sure we had enough room. Overall, transportation was very easy with the wheelchair and taxis all over Japan.
Hotel Experience and Getting to the Parks: We stayed in an Alice room at the Disneyland Hotel. The hotel was absolutely exceptional. It felt like the premium experience you expect for the price, unlike any of the U.S. hotels (in our opinion). Because my daughter was set on an Alice room, we did not have the usual accessible room for her, but the setup of the shower and everything worked great for her. She didn't have any issues. Getting to Disneyland was a piece of cake, with it being just out the back door of the hotel, with accessible ramps. Likewise, getting to DisneySea was easy. The monorail station is also right behind the hotel with easy-to-use elevators to the elevated platform. Getting on and off the monorail was great—better than WDW—since it didn't require someone to put a ramp up for us. The gap was small enough between the platform and monorail that I could just wheel her on and off easily.
Parks Experience: While we loved the parks and had a fantastic two days, Disney (really Oriental Land Company) fell a bit short for us in the disability handling area. There were a few concerns. First, employees tended to speak to us instead of my daughter, who is a college-age adult. When they did speak to her, they were a little condescending, treating her like she had a mental disability or something. This seemed to be a cultural thing from what we could tell, but we wish employees were better trained on modern ideas around disabilities, namely that most people want to be treated like everyone else. The other issue we had was the very formal checklist they went through with her on every single ride, sometimes multiple times.
We had a vacation package that let us use priority access lines on any rides that had them, anytime. In theory, this should have meant walking up to a ride and riding within minutes, but the second a cast member spotted my daughter's crutches, they pulled us aside and the long process began. The process involved a series of about five questions and lots of talking. With communication being an issue, it took way too long considering we had to repeat it so many times during the day. It involved explaining to her what the line was like (steps, no steps, how big the steps were, etc.), then what the ride was like ("this is a slow-moving boat ride, are you okay with that?"), then what transferring to the ride vehicle was like, often including the exact height of the step she would need to make, then asking her about emergency evacuations and the like. It may not sound like much and may even sound prudent to some, but it became exhausting and extremely repetitive. On some rides, they had an English book they would pull out, which sped things up, but on many, they were punching all of this into Google Translate and it took 20+ minutes to get through it. On more than one occasion, the process was repeated by a second cast member further up the line, despite us telling them that we had already been through it. It was bad enough that by the middle of the second day, my daughter was dropping rides from her must-do list because she was done going through it. It was simply overkill and took several hours of our day in each park when all was said and done. Whether it arose from a cultural difference, legal requirements, or both, it doesn't really matter to me. It was unnecessary and made her feel singled out in a way that never happens in the U.S. parks.
Then, at the end of our second day in the parks, after she had ridden nearly everything, we had an even worse experience. We went to ride Tower of Terror and got approved to ride. After waiting about twenty minutes in the priority line, we were called to board the elevator. Before she could cross the threshold, the woman told us to put her crutches in a can at the door. We explained she needed them to walk. She told us it was not allowed. So we put them in the can and I proceeded to support her so she could walk onto the ride. The woman told us that wasn't allowed and my daughter had to walk on herself. We explained she couldn't do that, and she said she couldn't ride. It was strange that this was the only ride with this issue, but we understood it probably had to do with having to evacuate from a different floor if necessary, so we were cool with it, even if disappointed. But then she called a supervisor who came and talked to us before calling another supervisor, and they made a big apologetic scene while everyone was waiting behind us to board still, and we just wanted to go. This was the final straw for my daughter and she was done riding rides. It was an unfortunate end to what was overall a very cool experience for everyone. Again, there are cultural differences, which we are usually very aware of and defer to since we are guests in another country, but at some point, I hope things improve at Tokyo Disney a little bit. As I said before, she just wants to be treated more normally. The U.S. parks are leagues ahead in this department. They understand that most disabled people know their limitations and are okay with a simple, "can you evacuate in the event of an emergency?" question.
In the end, the parks were amazing. They were like stepping back in time, where customer service was amazing, the parks were kept in near-perfect condition, and very clean. We had a great experience and are so glad we got to go. We all particularly liked Fantasy Springs. But this was also my daughter's bucket-list trip that we promised she would get when she beat cancer, and it was a bit sad to see her worn out by an outdated process in the parks, to the point where she said she didn't think she would ever want to go back to the parks in Tokyo.
Japan Generally: Disability access is getting better in Japan, but it is clear even modern areas weren't designed with disability access in mind. For example, at Tokyo Station, we had to take three different elevators to get from the train to the main area of the station, instead of just one. Elevators are also usually small. In addition, stores leave little room for wheelchairs, so a narrow chair is imperative if you want to shop. There were also a lot of elevated walkways in the city, which sometimes ended with stairs and no elevator. This was fine for us since my daughter is ambulatory and I could carry the chair, but it could be problematic for others. One tip I have for those in wheelchairs is to use Google Maps and select "wheelchair accessible." It does a fair job of navigating around steps. I also figured out late in the trip that areas in red on the map mean they are elevated walkways—once I learned that, things went smoother with navigation. Most of the temples or shrines handed us a map that had a route with no or little stairs. Again, it helps at many of these sites if you can navigate a few stairs and someone can carry the wheelchair, and some parts of them may not be accessible at all, but overall, you can see plenty with a wheelchair and we did not feel too impeded.
Overall, this was a trip of a lifetime. We found Japan to be everything we had hoped and more. If I get a chance, I will post more about our itinerary and trip. Thanks to everyone here who made understanding the park reservation process so much easier and planning our visit more fun!
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